I have been battling what I believe is a hormone-related headache all day long. I woke up with a booming headache and unfortunately it didn’t ease up. This happens to me pretty much every month and it often lasts a couple days. Normally if it is a caffeine or dehydration headache it is alleviated with tea or water, but neither of those methods worked today. Hormones, I’m looking at you.

Even though I could have been satisfied with a loaf of white bread for dinner, I tried my best to come up with a balanced meal that will hopefully send this headache on its merry moody old way.

Insert: Pumpkin to use up.

Insert: Fun Cinnamon Pumpkin Black Bean Recipe.

Insert: A dash of bright and cheery + antioxidants..

Cinnamon Pumpkin Black Bean Balls

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl mash together all ingredients until combined. Shape into balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and slightly crispy on the outside. Can also be made into burgers. Makes 12-14 balls.

I must have been cursing my female hormones and I made the burgers into balls, albeit subconsciously.

(Freudian analysis occurred post-photography upload.)

I decided to serve the burger balls over a mixed green salad for a light and healthy dinner.

I played off the sweet notes from the cinnamon and pumpkin and I sprinkled the salad with dried cranberries and raisins. How very Fall-like of me, I know. ;)

I also sprinkled sesame seeds, chopped avocado, green pepper, and tomato on top. It was what I had on hand so I made it work. For the dressing, I adapted my Better than bottled balsamic vinaigrette, by making it a bit sweeter with a touch more maple syrup.

The burger balls are good! They aren’t my all-time favourite veggie burger (see here and here for my top two), but I still enjoyed them quite a bit. The burger balls would also be great to pack in a lunch for a healthy & portable snack. :)

See you tomorrow AM for breakfast ‘cake’, only this time the cake is made from a veggie…put your thinking caps on!

I love Hyperbole and a Half! My friend introduced me to it a few weeks ago and I was heading on a road trip the next day with the boyfriend and a few friends. We spent the entire car-trip passing around my iphone and laughing about various cartoons. LOVE.

I just made your Vegan Spiced Pumpkin Glo Bites from last year… with a few different ingredients because of what I had in the house… Anyway, they turned out fantastic!

Also, just wanted to let you know that I just referenced your site on my blog… I mentioned how great it is that your recipes are presented within the context of caring about and nurturing oneself. It’s really inspiring. I know that you are causing your readers to think about themselves and about food in a radically different way, and for that, I say – Hurray! :)

These little balls look like such a great way to add something really filling to the average lunch salad. And I love that you can make a huge batch all at once and use them all week long. I’m totally going to make these this week. Thanks for the idea! Score!

These look great. I can’t wait to make them with kabocha squash – it would take too long to track down pumpkin here in Japan. It’s finally cool enough here to start making pumpkiny (well, kabochay) things here.

I sometimes get hormone headaches too. My Naturopathic Doctor suggested that I take iron supplements for the week before and then during my period. This has helped me. When I remember to take the supplements – no hormone headache. When I don’t remember to take them – headache. She has also said that the headaches can also be due to liver and spleen stagnation (Chinese medicine). Making sure that you are not eating/drinking things that make the liver work harder to process also helps. Sorry this is so long. Just thought I’d share what worked for me. By the way, I so enjoy reading your blog. Thanks so much for sharing your great recipes and your life!

Hey Angela, thanks for the link! Glad you liked the burgers — and I like your ‘balls’ idea! heee! Since I know you love pumpkin like I do, you might also be interested in my Olive Tapenade With Pumpkin recipe. It’s really delish and vegan too! :)

Anyway, thanks again for the link, I’ve been a reader for a long time and was thrilled to see my recipe here! :D